Insole



JOHN BERGSTEN, OF NEW YORK, Nr Y.

INSOLE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mal'. 16, 1920.

Application led January 25, 1919. Serial No. 273,051.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN Bnnes'rniv, a subject of the King of Sweden,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of the Bronx, in thecounty of Bronx and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedInsole, of which the following is a full. clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved insole tobe inserted in shoes, boots and other footwear', and arranged to keepthe feet of the user of the footwear warm and dry; Another object is toprovide an insole which is naturally resilient thus insuring easywalking. Another object is to utilize the heretofore wasted bark of thebalsa tree in the formation of the insole.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described andthen specifically pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate correspondingr parts in all theviews.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the insole, partly finished;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same in finished condition; and

Fig. 3 is an edge view of the same.

The insole is preferably manufactured from the bark of the balsa OchromaLagopus), now generally wasted, the bark being exceedingly light, softand porous and, therefore, exceptionally desirable for use as an insole.The front portion 11 of this body 10 is preferably split to permit theinsertion of reinforcing sheets 12 of the same material but with thefibers running transversely, as plainly indicated in Fig.l 1, these`sheets being preferably arranged in a single layer side by side, withtheir meeting edges 14 extending transversely of the insole at a pointapproximately beneath the ball of the foot. A transverse break is thusprovided in the insole at the point of greatest bend when walking,thereby providing the necessary pliability for the insole. The heelportion 15 of the body is likewise split for the recep tion of a.plurality of superimposed sheets lfi of the same material. and with thefibers run ning transversely, as shown in Fig. 1. The i several sheetsare fastened together by stitches 20, sundry of which extend along themargin of the insole and others extend across and diagonally or in anyother desirable manner, securelyto fasten the layers together. It willbe noticed that by the insertion of the sheets 12 the front portion ofthe insole is reinforced without being rendered unduly thick, and theheel portion is reinforced by the superimposed sheets 16, which, besidesreinforcing the heel portion, provide the desired cushioning efl'ect.

lt is understood that in order to render the bark of the balsaserviceable for forming the insole it is necessary that such bark iscured by steaming the same to allow. of removing the tough outer skinand to permit of readily splitting a sheet of a desired thickness andfor forming thinner sheets for the insertion at the split front and heelportion of the main sheet.

It is understood that an insole made of the material 'mentioned andconstructed in the manner described is exceedingly light and tends tokeep the foot of? the user of the footwear warm and dry.

Having thus described my invention, 'l'. claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent 1. As an article of manufacture, an insolecomprising a body sheet of fibrous material and having a plurality oflayers with the fibers extending lengthwise of the insole, and

reinforcing sheets of fibrous material interposed between the layers ofthe said fibrous body sheet at the front thereof, said reinforcingsheets arranged side by side in a single layer with their meeting edgesextending transversely of said insole at the ball of the foot,reinforcing sheets of fibrous material arranged in a plurality of layersinterposed between the layers of the said fibrous body sheet at the heelthereof, said front and heel reinforcing sheets having their fibersextending transversely of the tif) l sheet and reinforcing sheetstogether.

insole, and means for fastening said body the fibers extendingtransversely of the insole interposed between the layers of the said 2.As an article of manufacture, an insole fibrous body sheet, saidreinforcing sheets 10 comprising a body sheet offibrous materialarranged side by side in a single layer with and having a plurality oflayers with the their meeting edges extending transversely e fibersextending lengthwise of the insole, and of said insole at the ball ofthe foot.

reinforcing sheets of fibrous material with JOHN BERGSTEN.

